Facility Notes

In Akron, Betty Lin-Fisher reports FirstEnergy Corp.’s stadium naming-rights deal with the Browns will "last 17 years at an undisclosed amount." FirstEnergy President Chuck Jones said that the contract "extends for the remainder of the lease the Browns have with the city of Cleveland, which owns the stadium." He said that the "deal is being made in payments." It also includes "exclusive rights for FirstEnergy to be the only electric energy provider to have any signage in and around the stadium" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 1/17).

FEELING BLUE? In Columbus, Jeff Bell reported starting with Monday's Red Wings-Blue Jackets game, Delaware North Sportservice will open a "new Front Street Market" in Nationwide Arena. The store will sell "food, beer, soft drinks, snacks, candy and 'sundries' such as Advil, Tylenol, Pepto Bismol and Tums." The grab-and-go market "is modeled after ones that Sportservice operates at a number of Major League Baseball stadiums," including Great American Ballpark and Progressive Field. Nationwide Arena Sportservice GM Tom Booth said that the market is the company’s "first at a National Hockey League venue" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/16).

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE: In Boston, Casey Ross reports TD Garden Owner Delaware North is "resurrecting plans for a high-rise development in front of the arena that will include a pair of 400-foot towers containing offices, hundreds of residences, a hotel, and stores." The project, which would "create a modern, retail-filled gateway to the North Station area, has gained new momentum in recent months." Delaware North recently "teamed up with Boston Properties Inc. to craft a new plan that includes more than 1.3 million square feet of new space." The towers would "rise on the old site of the Boston Garden, which has been used for parking" since TD Garden opened in '95. The project "still needs approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, but the developers hope to begin construction later this year" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/17).

NEW LOOK: In Memphis, Phil Stukenborg noted players at the U.S. National Indoor, a combined ATP/WTA event in Memphis in February, will notice missing “wooden bleachers behind the north and south sidelines, seating that existed for more than 30 years” at The Racquet Club. The bleachers have been “removed and will be replaced by chair-back seats that have been used in the sections behind the east and west baselines.” In addition, new club seating, with “standing-room options, will be sold in the upper section behind the west baseline.” The six club boxes “will include food and beverage options.” Tournament Dir Peter Lebedevs said that the new seating “won't affect capacity of the Stadium Court, which will remain 5,000” (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 1/16).